The moment the door closed, she patted her chest with a hint of lingering fear. Her clothes weren't wet from rain; after she had settled the man, she discovered her body was covered in bloodstains. She had rushed to the nearby river to wash it off, but afterward, her clothes were almost soaked. With no other choice, she hurried home before dark. By the time she returned, it was nearly dusk, and her mother hadn't seen clearly, otherwise, she would have surely pried for details.
The next morning, Wu Caiwei was out gathering herbs again with her basket. Her mother, Madam Liu, saw her and worried, "Why are you running out every day? Can't you just skip it?"
"I wouldn't want to go if I didn't have to, but yesterday I passed by a house and saw a child with no parents, no family, and no food at home. If I don't go today, he'll starve." Liu Xiangjun knew her mother was kind-hearted, and this excuse would surely gain her approval.
As expected, Madam Liu hurried to the kitchen upon hearing this and soon prepared a basket. She instructed, "Go and come back quickly. These are for that child."
"I know!" Liu Xiangjun skipped away with the basket.
When she arrived at the small wooden house, she found he was still asleep. She touched his forehead; as expected, he had a fever. She quickly brewed the fever-reducing medicine she had secretly brought, then fed him some porridge. Seeing he was out of danger, she took her basket and went to gather herbs nearby. This time, she dared not venture into the deep mountains and old forests.
On the third day, he finally woke up. Seeing his surroundings, he knew someone had saved him and heaved a sigh of relief. However, his body was aching all over, and he couldn't move.
When Liu Xiangjun entered again, she saw a pair of intelligent eyes, and felt a jolt in her heart. She finally understood what "love at first sight" meant in ancient texts.
She was a clever girl. Having disguised herself as a man for so many years, accompanying her father through villages and towns, she had seen much. She knew this man's identity was not ordinary. Ordinary people didn't have iron plates inlaid in their chests.
She quickly lowered her head, a little shyly saying, "You're awake?"
Despite her hurried attempt to conceal it, Zhu Chenxing was not someone who could be easily fooled. He naturally saw her budding affection, but pretended nothing had happened, nodding slightly. Wu Caiwei quickly brought out the porridge she had brought and fed him spoonful by spoonful.
As usual, she gave him his medicine, offered some advice, and continued to gather herbs. Without medicinal ingredients, how could she explain to her mother in the afternoon?
Half a month later, his injuries had mostly healed. He left quietly, and Liu Xiangjun's heart felt empty. She lost her appetite and couldn't sleep.
This greatly frightened Mr. and Mrs. Liu. Although Liu Xiangjun sometimes disobeyed her mother, she was generally very well-behaved. "You don't have a fever?" Mr. Liu felt her forehead, puzzled.
"Could you have caught a cold?" Madam Liu asked next.
Seeing her parents' concern, Liu Xiangjun suddenly realized. She and he were from two different worlds. From their first meeting, she had known clearly that some people were destined to be unattainable. Living her own life well was the most important thing. Once she understood this, she felt her heart lighten. Smiling, she raised her head and sighed, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just got stuck in a rut for a while. It won't happen again."
Seeing that she was truly alright, Mr. and Mrs. Liu exchanged a look. In private, they had suspected their daughter might have experienced heartbreak, but after much thought, they couldn't recall her having any significant interactions with anyone, so they dismissed the idea.
Soon, she put the matter behind her, though she would occasionally think of it in her dreams, but it was only a fleeting thought.
She never imagined that this event would bring her ruin a year later. The original host had a similar experience in her past life. Although Mr. and Mrs. Liu tried their best to protect her, the other party was a prominent family from the county town, and her uncle was the county magistrate. They initially intended to reason with the family, but the other party ambushed them and forcibly took her away.
Liu Xiangjun tried to intervene and had her leg broken. She had a fiancé at the time. When he heard they had offended someone and she was now crippled, he hastily broke off the engagement. Mr. Liu, furious, spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. Uncertain of his daughter's fate in the Wang family, and after a lifetime of healing people, to suffer such a calamity in his old age, he couldn't come to terms with it. A few days later, he passed away.
Mr. and Mrs. Liu had a deep affection for each other. For years, despite her occasional temper, Madam Liu had always prioritized her husband. With her son and daughter suffering such misfortunes and her husband's death, their once happy family fell apart in mere days. Unable to bear it, Madam Liu, under her son's unsuspecting gaze, dashed her head against the entrance of the county yamen and died.
Liu Xiangjun was filled with grief and indignation, vowing to avenge his sister and mother. With a life lost, the matter naturally escalated. To appease him, the county magistrate publicly vowed to investigate the matter thoroughly. Su Dan Novel Network.
But the next moment, he accidentally fell into the river. Liu Xiangjun, suffering under the torment of the Wang family, fearing her parents couldn't bear the pain of losing their daughter, endured humiliation and lived on. She secretly crawled out through a dog hole, licking her wounds behind the rock garden, only to overhear two maids gossiping about her. At first, she paid it no mind, but as she listened, tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.
Seizing an opportunity when they weren't paying attention, she secretly crawled out of the dog hole. As she walked, she inquired about the Liu family's situation from everyone she met. The more she heard, the heavier her heart became. Finally, unwilling to give up, she returned to Qinghe Town, only to find a seal pasted on her family's home.
Without a word, she returned to the county and went to the largest brothel, falsely claiming to be Prince Feng's maid and having an urgent matter to report to him.
Prince Feng casually looked up as she pushed the door open and sneered, "What, being my Wang family's young mistress isn't enough for you? You want to be like these prostitutes, ridden by thousands and slept on by thousands?"
"I've only come today to ask one question: Why must you marry me? Is my family's ruin somehow connected to you?" Liu Xiangjun asked in a terrifyingly calm voice, as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
"Why should I answer you? Guards, throw this crazy woman out!" Prince Feng couldn't be bothered with her. It was her fault for offending someone. He, a woman from a small town, marrying into his family as his young mistress, didn't feel wronged, but his family acted as if they had suffered a loss.
The next moment, he stared in disbelief, his eyes widening, before collapsing to the ground. Having killed someone, Liu Xiangjun knew she couldn't survive. With a heavy heart, she plunged the dagger into her own heart. She wanted to experience what it felt like to be stabbed in the heart, as he had been. If time could rewind, she would no longer be timid and would have bravely confessed her feelings to him.
Pain, such sharp pain. She had never felt such pain in her life. As she fell to the ground, her ears buzzed, and screams echoed around her. The greatest regrets of her life were: first, not finding out who harmed her Liu family. After days with Prince Feng, she clearly saw the contempt in his eyes and knew he didn't genuinely want to marry her; she still didn't know who the mastermind was. Second, she would never see him again.